Bus workers to strike over ‘poor pay’ this week

Bus workers are set to begin strike action this week after rejecting a five per cent pay offer from their employer.

About 40 staff who work in the control rooms for Abellio buses at Battersea and Twickenham bus garages will begin six days of action on Friday.

The strikes, which will see busses running but “heavily disrupted”, will continue on January 26 and February 2, 9, 16 and 23.

Those taking part in strike action are members of the Unite union, which says the five per cent pay increase for 2023 was a “substantial real-terms pay cut”.

Workers already earn about £10,000 per year less than similar staff at other bus companies and have been offered a smaller pay increase, Unite said.

The bus workers use satellite GPS systems to monitor bus routes across London and instruct drivers on traffic jams or accidents to ensure overall safety.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Abellio’s poor pay offer will bring chaos to London as our members take strike action to fight for better pay.  

“Abellio has hundreds of millions of pounds of revenue from lucrative London bus contracts and yet it is trying to short-change some of its most vital staff. It needs to understand our members won’t stand for it.” 

The routes affected by industrial action include: 24, 27, 111, 156, 159, 267, 285, 322, 344, 345, 415 , 490, 969, H20, H25, H26, R68, R70.

A spokeswoman from Abellio said: “We have negotiated with Unite since April 2023 regarding pay for its members in our Controller and Officials staff groups. It is disappointing to see Unite take strike action following an unconditional offer of a 5 per cent increase in salary, back paid to January 2023. This offer is in line with increases made to other groups of staff within the business.

“We have mitigation plans in place for the strikes and are working with TfL to ensure Londoners can continue to travel during this unnecessary action.”

(Picture: Fernando Garcia/Flickr)